To Weave a Special Night
by EmeraldDesian
Summary: It has been a few months since Souji went home, and Kanji hasn't had anyone to really talk to. Will he be able to talk to Naoto without Souji's vote of confidence? My first attempt at a fanfic. R&R please. Barely rated T for some language.
1. Chapter 1

It was a warm evening in late April when Kanji decided to take a moment to reflect. "Has it really been over a month since Senpai went home?" he thought to himself, lying down on his couch with his hands behind his head. It seemed like just yesterday that everyone stood at the end of that train platform as their leader went home. Once the train was out of sight it was a good ten minutes before anyone said anything, and another five before they could bring themselves to leave. Kanji had felt awkward ever since then. Sure, he still hung around with the rest of the group, but his Senpai was really his biggest connection to them. Now that he was gone, Kanji tended to not say much when he was with everyone. Souji was like the older brother he never had. Kanji could talk to him about anything, and he would sit there and listen, until he felt it was just the right time to stop him and say something, usually very brief, but powerful nonetheless. But now, he didn't have anyone he could feel comfortable talking to. "Ah, well. It's not like I'm an outcast anymore or anything. Everyone's usually really nice. I wonder if it's because they can tell I miss Senpai…" That thought annoyed Kanji a bit; he didn't like being pitied. But he just let out a sigh and went up to bed.

The next morning was cloudy. The fog had not set in since they finished their mission in the T.V. world, but days like this were kinda nostalgic. Kanji walked slowly to school. He ran into Chie, Yukiko, and Yosuke on the way. He joined them, and he figured it would be the same as always. They would say hi, he would say hi, and then they would continue their conversation and he wouldn't feel right joining it. But today was different. They seemed more enthusiastic than usual.

"Hey, Kanji-kun! Have you heard?" Chie proclaimed excitedly.

"Nah. What?"

"The school is holding a dance this May! We were all gonna go, it's gonna be sweet!"

"A dance, huh?" Kanji thought. He was never really one for dances. His mom forced him to go to the last dance the school had, and he ended up just sitting by the punch bowl for three hours. It would've been four, but somebody made a snarky comment and ended up getting a chair broken over the side of their face. Kanji was quickly escorted out. "Of course, that wouldn't be problem if I had…a date" Kanji thought to himself. "Eh, but who am I kidding? There's no way…" Suddenly, Yosuke interrupted Kanji's thoughts.

"C'mon Kanji, I'm sure Naoto will go with you if you ask her really nice." Kanji punched him in the back of the head.

Kanji went through class that day the same way he went through it every other day; leaning against the wall with his chair, waaaaay in the back, barely ever paying attention to the actual lesson. He figured he probably should be paying more attention, since his Senpai wasn't around to help him study, but he couldn't concentrate. Every time he tried, his thoughts drifted back to that young detective girl. He daydreamed of her, looking up at him with her cool blue gaze, intense, but with a hint of feminine gentleness, and whispering his name. "Kanji…" she would mouth, before finally Kanji snapped out of his daze, every time. But this time, it seemed it was lasting a bit longer.

"Kanji!"

"Huh?!" Kanji snapped to attention, quickly noticing that the classroom was totally empty. Upon looking up, he realized that Naoto was standing over his desk.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit…spaced out."

"Huh? Oh…um…yeah…sorry. I'm fine. What's up?" Kanji asked, fumbling for the right words.

"The others wanted me to come get you. We're all going to Aiya for lunch. Let's go."

Kanji couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Every time Naoto talked to him, he secretly hoped to himself that she would show even the slightest hint of interest in him, but he knew she wouldn't. It wasn't really her style. But that's one thing he liked about her. That strange aura she had…as though she had become a mystery herself in order to understand mysteries. Kanji chuckled to himself at the thought; that was pretty deep, for him.

The entire time they were at the diner, he considered really asking her to the dance. Not right then, of course, but sometime. He wanted to, he really did, but he felt he didn't have enough Courage. Every time he looked at her, Rokuten Maoh went crazy. "C'MON MAN! YOU GOT THIS! YOU FUCKIN' GOT THIS! RAAAAAAAAGH!!!" but…he couldn't ask her. He couldn't even talk to her. He felt like such a wuss.

It started to get dark, and the gang decided to go their separate ways. Kanji walked down the street and went home. His mom told him there was leftover dinner in the fridge, but he just went straight to bed. He laid there for a while, staring at the ceiling. He came to a conclusion. He had to ask Naoto to that dance. If he didn't he would surely go out of his mind. But he didn't know how to approach her. He sighed to himself. "How would Senpai handle this, I wonder? He never seemed to have trouble with girls. I didn't think it was possible to five-time a bunch of girls and have none of them find out…even in his absence…Ugh, I'm getting distracted." Kanji concentrated hard. "Okay, what would Senpai do?" He had a clear picture of the scenario. He would always just walk up to the girl, and smoothly ask her if she wanted to go somewhere. "Then again," Kanji thought "the guy wasn't afraid of anything. He kept his composure through every damn thing that happened to him. Dammit Senpai, how am I supposed to be like you?"

"Don't be like me. Be like yourself."

The answer his friend would've given came to him almost as though he was standing right there. "Ah, I get it. Do it my way, eh Senpai? Well, that takes some pressure off, but…I still don't really know what I'm doing."

"You're overthinking it."

"Heh, I might be." Kanji smiled wryly.


	2. Chapter 2

Kanji stood outside the Sewing Club room afterschool. He chuckled to himself; he didn't have the balls to go in there, either. But it was his usual spot, he felt comfortable there. He worked himself up, tried to gather up his Courage, and finally found the confidence to try. He boldly walked down the hall, through the breezeway, right to Naoto's usual place, just past the stairs. Unfortunately…she wasn't there. Kanji checked his cellphone; it was Saturday. He walked home and ate something he found in the fridge.


	3. Chapter 3

Monday soon rolled around. Kanji walked to school through the rain, considering the task at hand. He rubbed his head. All this thinking he'd been doing was giving him a headache.

"Hey, Kanji!" he heard a voice behind him. Turning around, he saw Naoto walking up to him. His heart suddenly seized up. She looked…really nice.

"Umm…mornin' Naoto-kun…urm…chan…sorry." Naoto chuckled.

"Hm, either's fine." she assured him. Kanji averted his eyes, embarrassed. He noticed that this was the best chance he was going to get. He swallowed hard, and decided to go for it.

"Naoto, uhh…I wanted to ask you something." Naoto looked up at him attentively.

"I was sorta…wondering if you wanted to g-g…" he struggled to form the words. He suddenly wished he had spent some time afterschool working on expressing himself. He cleared his throat to try again.

"Ahem I wanted to know if you wanted to go…go to the…urgh."

"Kanji, what are you trying to say?" Naoto seemed a bit flustered. Kanji blushed lightly.

"So…yeah, um…go to the dance w-with me?" Naoto's eyes widened.

"Well, uh, I…" Naoto blushed "Urm…I really wasn't planning on going, and I…well…" Kanji's throat felt like it was closing. This sounded way too much like a no. "I don't really have the proper attire; I'm not the dress-wearing type, after all. I would, honestly, but I don't really have time to get anything to wear; the dance is tomorrow, and I'm currently helping the Inaba PD with a case. Sorry, I have to…decline." Kanji took a deep breath.

"Aah, that's…alright." He appreciated her effort, but he heard this excuse before, at the school campout. 'Oh, if only we had swimsuits.' The atmosphere was silent and awkward the whole rest of the way to school.

It really didn't hit Kanji that he'd been bluntly rejected. He was upset enough to skip class that day, however. "No dress, huh…" He sighed to himself. "Dammit!" Kanji reared back and ran his fist through a stall door. "Hmph. What are you upset about, huh?! You knew this would happen! Look at ya! Dammit!...dammit…" Kanji slumped to the floor. Again he found himself wishing Souji was there. He couldn't exactly mention this to anyone else. He tried to imagine what he would say.

"Aw dude, that sucks." Not the sage-level wisdom he was hoping for.

"I told you though; you have to do it your way." Kanji considered this for a moment. "Heh, yeah…I guess so. Yeah! I'm Kanji Tatsumi! I helped save the fuckin' planet! I'm not getting set back by something like this!" Kanji jumped to his feet and began pondering what he was going to do with this newfound resolve. He paced back and forth feverishly, racking his brain. If she really didn't want to go with him, he didn't want to force her, but he felt like, in the words of his Senpai, he was "missing something." "It is possible" he thought "that she was actually telling the truth." But Kanji didn't really know how to deal with the situation. Not without becoming a stalker, anyway. It hit him just then. The only real difference between her rejecting him and her not being able to go is whether or not she actually had a dress. If he could get her a dress, he would get a final answer, and he just happened to know a guy who had a knack for sewing and access to a textile shop.

Kanji began work on the dress as soon as he got home. He didn't have much time to finish it; the dance was on Thursday, and he had to get it to her at least the night before. So he spent every spare second he had sewing. It was difficult work, he had never made anything this complex, and he didn't even actually have her measurements. He judged mostly by looking at pictures and measuring things he had seen next to her at school. He worked late into the night, until his mother came in.

"Kanji, what are you doing this late at night?"

"Nothin' ma, go back to bed." Kanji droned with sleepiness in his voice.

"Is…is that a dress Kanji?"

"Huh? Yeah, it's for…a friend."

"Oh, a 'friend' huh? Well. And here I thought you liked that cute little Naoto boy. Ah well. Good night Kanji." He groaned and slammed his head against his desk.


	4. Chapter 4

He woke up the next morning, in class. Upon realizing where he was, he remembered that he'd pulled an all-nighter working on the dress, and apparently class was less than exciting. He went straight home yet again, knowing he still had a lot to get done. It was really starting to come together though, he was actually getting kinda excited. It was getting easier to tell who the dress was actually for, he was proud of himself. He worked on finishing it up late into the night yet again.

Kanji spent most of school the next day considering how he would actually get the dress to her. He couldn't exactly unfurl it for her in the hallway, and he wouldn't feel right visiting her at her house. He wasn't even sure where it was. He figured he'd reflect on it while putting on the final touches. Kanji started to head home, but on the way he ran into Naoto in the hallway.

"Kanji, how are you? Headed home?" Kanji nodded.

"Ah, I see. Mind walking with me? I finally finished up this case, so I get to go home, as well."

Kanji tried to hide his enthusiasm.

"Uh, sure, I guess." He said, trying to look the other way.

The walk to the Shirogane residence was long and awkward. Neither of them were very good at starting a conversation. "Well, here we are. See you, Kanji."

"Oh, uh, later." Kanji said awkwardly. He waved and started the walk back to his house. He had an address. And if he had an address he could leave a package there. "Of course," Kanji thought, "leaving an unmarked package at the front door of a family of detectives might not be such a good idea…" He figured he didn't have any better ideas.

It took until evening, but it was finally done. A simple, elegant, dress, silky, and in a light shade of blue. It was…very elaborate. Just thinking about seeing her in it made his nose bleed a little. Kanji put it in a small pink dress box with an invitation to meet "an admirer" outside the school the night of the dance. He couldn't bring himself to use his name, although he figured she's a detective, and perfectly capable of figuring it out. He snuck out of the house to deliver it. He left the quaint little package on her front porch, rang the bell, and bolted to a safe distance. From there he saw Naoto come to the door, pick up the package, scan it with some detective gadget, look around, and then take it inside. Kanji clutched at his chest; his heart was pounding harder than it ever had before. But he finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Phew, well…she took it." He was freaking out a little, but he was happy that he went through with it.

"All that's left now…is to wait until tomorrow night."


	5. Chapter 5

Kanji spent most of the next day panicking. He didn't see Naoto all day, which he considered lucky, but it made him anxious. "What if she's avoiding me, or she's sick or something?" he thought. He tried desperately to distract himself from such thoughts, but his friends were no help. All they could talk about was the dance. How Chie and Yosuke were going together because they couldn't find dates, how Yukiko and Rise weren't going at all because they got into an argument over who Souji would've gone with. They even asked Kanji about it.

"I dunno, we never really talked about that sorta thing…" He really did know, of course, and judging by how he was chuckling, so did Yosuke. Chie just looked confused. Everybody went home to get ready.


	6. Chapter 6

Kanji took a step outside, adjusted his tie, took a deep breath, and walked to school. He got there about twenty minutes early, and tried to figure out where to wait for Naoto. Time went on, and she still wasn't there. He wouldn't expect her to be, it had only been three minutes, but it felt like an eternity. While he was waiting, alone with his thoughts, he began to doubt himself all over again. Ten more minutes went by, and still no sign of her. Kanji was barely hanging on by this point. "I should've figured, why did I even get my hopes up in the first place? Dammit…" he thought to himself.

It was twenty minutes after the time he put on the invitation, and Naoto still wasn't there. Kanji couldn't take standing outside, alone, waiting anymore, so he went inside and went to the men's room. Kanji found himself faced with an ultimatum: Wait, and get rejected, or spend the rest of the night in the restroom, and risk standing Naoto up. By this point, Kanji was pretty sure she wasn't coming, so he knew which one he was leaning towards. Nobody really knew he expected a date, they would figure he just got forced to go again and didn't want to deal with it. On the other hand, he didn't want to give up so easily, after putting all this effort into it. He started to get frustrated. He tried to punch the stall door, but of course it wasn't there anymore. Kanji didn't know what to do, so he tried to figure out what Souji would say if he were there.

"Think how she'd feel."

Kanji looked up. He really hadn't considered it, since he didn't expect her to show up. If she left her own comfort zone and came to this dance in that dress on nothing but trust and he stood her up, well, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He didn't have a choice; he had to wait for her, even if she never showed up. He picked himself up and walked outside.

As soon as he went out the door, he saw her grandfather's car pull up. Naoto stepped out and said goodbye, and then began walking toward the school. It was a bit surreal for Kanji to see her in the dress, as if he was having a lucid dream. She walked up to him and apologized.

"Sorry I'm late…I'm really not used to getting dressed up like this." She blushed lightly and averted her eyes. Kanji had to make a conscious effort not to emit a gleeful squeal. "It took me a while to get into it."

"'s'okay." Kanji replied simply. He spent a moment taking in her appearance. The dress he had made accentuated her gentle curves, emphasizing her subtle femininity. She had a barrette in her hair, white, with a single, tiny sapphire in the center. It looked like it was pretty old, but in relatively good shape; Kanji guessed it belonged to her mother. It seemed to suit her nicely.

"Shall we, Miss Shirogane?" Kanji asked, gesturing toward the door. Naoto chuckled and walked inside with him.

Kanji and Naoto spent the first hour or so of the dance making idle conversation in an isolated corner of the room. Neither of them were too comfortable about actually dancing. The situation did allow for Kanji to retell the story of the last time he was at a school dance.

"Then he comes over to me, and he has the _BALLS_ to say 'So, your _mom_ force you to come or what?' So I got up, and broke my chair over the side of his head. Three security guards escorted me out of the building." This led to Naoto telling a story about how she fended off an assault in a similar matter while doing field work. "…only I used a ceramic serving tray and then pistol-whipped the crap out of him." They kept trading stories until the dance was almost over. It was then that the specially-invited DJ Teddie made an announcement.

"Alright everybody, it's time for the last dance! Let's make it a sloooooow one! Two youths, just closer than arm's length, embracing the autumn nights. Time stops, as they discover themselves, and each other. It is…the essence of youth!" Kanji and Naoto both seemed to be questioning who invited him to DJ, anyway. The music started, and Kanji decided it was now or never. "This is one of those moments Senpai always talked about," Kanji thought, "where you're given a choice, and it's important to make the right one."

"So…urm…care to dance, Naoto-kun?" Her eyes widened.

"Well…I suppose…" she said, "but I don't really know…how to…"

Kanji grabbed her wrist and started for the dance floor.

"Heh, 's'okay. Neither do I!" They managed not to knock anyone over.

Kanji walked Naoto home.

"Well Kanji, I…I had a really nice time tonight."

"Yeah…me too." They stared awkwardly at each other, each expecting the other to lean in…but neither did.

"Umm…well…I suppose I'll see you tomorrow." Naoto said, breaking the silence.

"Oh…uh…okay. G'night…Naoto-kun." Kanji replied, turning to leave.

"Goodnight, Kanji-chan." Kanji grinned. He went home happy that night. For the first night in a long time, he slept soundly.


	7. Epilogue

Naoto walked up to Kanji at school the next morning. The first thing he noticed was that there was something notably different about her.

"So, Naoto…you…stopped taping down your chest?" Naoto looked flustered.

"Umm…yeah. Being more feminine wasn't as weird as I thought, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Is it really so…obvious?" Kanji decided to change the subject.

"Sooo…what's that?" Kanji asked, pointing out a box she was holding.

"Oh! Umm, right, I wanted to give this back." It was the box he put her dress in. It stung a little, but he figured he'd at least he'd have good memories of the night before.

"Not permanently of course," Naoto said with a reassuring smile, "but it needs a few adjustments. Here." Naoto grabbed Kanji's hand and took out a pen. "Okay, here are my measurements, and my cell number. Feel free to call anytime if you need any…help." She leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Or, y'know…anything else. See ya!" She walked off. Kanji smiled wryly.


End file.
